


Rolling Thunder

by HeathNils



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action Star/Laxus, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Country Bot/Natsu, Eventual Romance, Hollywood/Crocus, Love at First Sight, M/M, Romance, Super Fandom, stalkers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2020-02-07 07:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18616261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeathNils/pseuds/HeathNils
Summary: "When two people really care about each other, they always find a way to make it work. No matter how hard it is."- UnknownLaxus Dreyar is a well-know action star from the fast-lane city of Crocus. He decides to take a simple drive, no destination in mind and winds up in a small town of Magnolia where he meets Natsu Dragneel, who is ignorant of who Laxus really is and they begin to fall in love. With the tabloids, a fame-hungry manager and crazy super-fan on his back, it's getting harder and harder to hide the truth from Natsu who slowly uncovers the truth piece by piece.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive such a short chapter! ;w;

"Laxus! You're soooo handsome!"

"Laxus! Can I get a picture of you?"

"Can I have your autograph?"

"Laxus! Is it true you're dating the famous supermodel Mirajane Strauss?"

"Are you getting plastic surgery done?"

"What is your work-out secret?"

"Laxus!

"LAXUS!"

"WE LOVE YOU LAXUS!"

He had it.

He just had it!

He stormed through the large throng of paparazzi flashing their cameras into his throbbing head and screaming fans, desperate to see him, get his picture, his autograph or just to get a close look and touch him. Laxus Dreyar was indeed the very idea of what many would think a famous action star from Crocus should look like; He was tall and muscular with rugged good-looks and piercing orange eyes and his blond hair was slicked back but its numerous spiky strands still pointed out and backwards with some falling down in a small tuft on his forehead wearing a simple white wife-beater, dark washed blue jeans and hiking boots. He had a distinct lightning bolt-shaped scar on and over his right eye and located on his left rib cage was a large tribal tattoo that extended up to his left shoulder and covered part of the upper back.

"Laxus! Can we have a picture for Entertainment Weekly?"

"NO!"

He snarled and shoved past them, all of them with ease, knocking a few down to the ground but he neither noticed nor did he care as he attempted to make his way to his parked custom-made silver Ford F-450, dragging his best friend/bodyguard Freed with him. Laxus and Freed Justine had been best friends since they first met in pre-school but Freed was rather smaller then Laxus in comparison; Dressed in a pressed red button-up shirt and pressed dark slacks he was a slim man with waist-length green hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with his bangs are brushed to the right side of his face with a pair of thin lightning bolt shaped strands jutting out backwards from the sides of his head who had no problem bringing people twice his size down to the ground. His eyes are were a warm and gentle blue that become steely-sharp within a matter of seconds with a small beauty mark underneath the left one and had the misfortune of being mistaken for a young woman. 

"Laxus! Please slow down." Freed's voice could barely be heard over the din of ecstatic fans. "You're tearing out my arm!"

Laxus didn't acknowledge Freed's request as he finally made his way to his parked truck. He quickly opened the door to the passenger side and quickly threw Freed in the seat before storming over to the driver's side as more cameras flashed and people tried reach out for him. 

"Laxus!"

"LAXUS!"

He shoved them away from him and quickly yanked open his door and jumped into the driver's seat, gunning the engine to life and jammed his foot on the gas pedal. His truck quickly shot out from its parking spot as he sped down the road, not caring if he hit anyone.

He had to get away.

So he was going to drive. He and Freed were going to drive until the gas tank was empty and he didn't when or where that was.

"L-Laxus... You missed the turnoff to your manse..."

"I don't care."

Anywhere had to be better then here.


	2. Laxus and Freed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my defense, I was left unsupervised and this became one of my guilty-pleasure pairings thanks in part by GemNika and their fanfic; Submissive Dragons, Part 2: Written in Iron

  
The drive was quiet, not a word was spoken between the two men as the truck roared down the dark and near empty highway. They had finally lost the paparazzi a couple hours ago, a few cities back but still no word was spoken, the tension and frustration rolling off the large, burly blond was so thick, it could've been cut by a plastic knife from a box kept in the glove compartment. Freed briefly glanced at Laxus, unsure if he should even say anything as the man did look like a powder keg just waiting for the right spark but it had been almost three hours and the sun was slowly starting to peek over the horizon, announcing the arrival of morning. He surely couldn't be the only one that worried for Laxus' whereabouts and safety.

He had to know.

"Laxus?"

Laxus gave off a grunt; An indication he was listening.

"If you don't mind," Freed started slow, careful with his words. He didn't want to set of the blonde, "Where are we going?"

There was a heavy silence and for a moment, Freed was sure that he had set off the volcano that was Laxus Dreyar. A long and heavy sigh entered the air and Freed could literally feel the tension and anger disappearing with it before Laxus finally spoke.

"I don't know."

Freed blinked. "What?"

"I don't know." Laxus sighed again. "I just-- I just wanted to get away..."

"Did... Did you have a destination in mind?" Freed asked.

"No." Came another sigh. "I just wanted to drive."

"For three hours straight?" Freed gaped, flabbergasted. "And at night? You have no destination in mind?"

"I had a plan, okay?" Laxus snarled. "That plan was to get the hell away from there, from the those blood-suckers and drive until my truck bled dry."

"And I'm here because--?"

"Because I trust nobody else. You're my best friend-- Not just my bodyguard."

Freed blinked before a soft blush appeared across his face and he looked away, while he felt bashful at the statement, he also felt pride swelling in his chest at the praise. Silence fell in the cab as they drove down the long stretch of road when the silence was shattered by the sounds of a cellphone ringing, startling both men. Freed frantically began fumbling all over his person, trying to find his cellphone so as to answer it and to prevent Laxus' from exploding. When he finally found it, pulling it out of his right front coat pocket and let out a soft, warm smile when he read the caller ID, he swiped to the left and placed the phone to his ear while Laxus glanced over at Freed from the corner of his eye in suspicion.

"Hello?"

 _"Freed! Baby!"_ Came a frantic and worried voice. _"Thank Twin Gods ya' answered yer phone! I was about ready to call the police! My next step!"_

Laxus rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips. The voice sounded familiar and he knew who it belonged to, it was Gajeel Redfox, Freed's fiance and his personal and private physical trainer and Laxus immediately felt himself relaxing, all tension draining from his body. Gajeel was another man he could trust with his deepest and darkest secrets and know that the man would never betray him.

"Gajeel. Gajeel, Love, you're overreacting--" Freed smiled, he couldn't help but be feel touched that this man worried over him. "I assure you I'm fine."

_"And the Lighten' Pole?"_

"He's with me." Freed assured. "Just as fine."

 _"Where are you, Babe?"_ Gajeel asked. _"The two of you were supposed to be home at 11 pm and when neither of you came home-- I called everyone; your brother, Sparky's brother-- Everyone, I tell you and when no one couldn tell me anything-- I feared the worst..."_

"We're fine Gajeel," Freed smiled, "We're just on a drive--"

 _"For three fuckin' hours?"_ He cried, causing Freed to pull away from the phone. _"Do you have any idea what time it is?!"_

"Well--"

 _"It's 3 in the frickin' morning!"_ Gajeel answered. _"When ya' coming back?"_

"Yes, about that--"

"Tell Gajeel we're going to be in a town somewhere on the other side of the mountains." Laxus said, loud enough for the man on the other end of the line to hear. "And we're gonna be staying there for a few days. Once we settle, we'll text him the address so he can join us if he wants."

_"What?"_

"Why?"

"Because." Was the firm answer. "I'm taking a break-- We deserved this! And if my _'agent's'_ got a problem with it, he can kiss my ass. We ain't got any projects lined up until Fall-- Hell, he should be happy enough that I got my body guard with me."

"B-But what about supplies?" Freed asked. "Spare clothes, toiletries--"

"I still have our stuff pack from our last trip in the back seat." He grunted. "It'll work."

 

* * *

 

 

It was another four hours had passed before Laxus' truck started making a sound indicating that it only had 50 miles left in its tank and it needed gas. Laxus couldn't really fault anyone as not only did he not allow people anywhere near his precious 2018 Ford F-450 truck, he was also the one who decided to spontaneously decided to drive away from the fast-pace of Crocus on a barely-considered a full tank of gas. He looked at an upcoming sign that told of an off-ramp that would lead to an upcoming town just 5 miles away and decided that was where they would stop.

He could only hope that this town was closed off to going-on's of Crocus.

He looked over at Freed, giving a rare but small smile at the sight of the man sleeping and curled into a small ball, using his red coat as a blanket in the passenger seat. Freed had fallen asleep roughly 45 minutes ago after he ended his call to his fiance and remained asleep for a good few hours. He really didn't want to wake the man as he had been up since 8 in the morning yesterday but he knew that if he didn't inform him on what he planned on doing, then the guy would become unglued.

How he wasn't after all this was beyond him.

"Freed," He called, "Freed."

"Mmm?" Came the sleepy response.

"We're coming up on a town," Laxus said, "Figured I'd let you know."

"I see." Freed grunted, yawning and sitting upright in his seat and stretched until he was satisfied. He blinked a couple of times, clearing his eyes of sleep and looked out the window. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere on the other side of the mountains," Laxus responded, "About 5 miles outside a town called Magnolia. I think that's a good place to relax."

"Magnolia?" Freed's eyes snapped open. "How long have we been driving?!"

"About seven hours."

"Seven hours?!" Freed cried before he covered his face. "Oh my-- Gajeel must be worried sick!"

"He ain't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"If he was worried then your phone would have been long since blown up," Laxus replied, making a turn onto the decided ramp. "Besides, he's gonna be joining us in the next seven to eight hours."

"True..."

"We'll be in Magnolia in about ten minutes," Laxus said, "And first order of business; Breakfast."

 

* * *

 

 

Magnolia was a rather rural town, surrounded by vast farmlands but with a suburban feeling to it, it looked to be town where everyone would know everyone. There was a decent shopping district with the couple known gas stations, family restaurants and the unknown small businesses, mom-and-pop shops, a city hall, police station and fire house. The paving of the town, both vertically and horizontally in a series of large roads gave whole place a rather rustic, western in appearance with its buildings being mildly reminiscent of a world from the pioneer times and located almost in the middle of the town, overlooking them was a massive church, the Kardia Cathedral, according to a street sign.

They pulled into the parking lot of a mom-and-pop diner with an on-sight gas station; a diner called Fairy Tail. Laxus raised an eyebrow, staring at the sign as he parked his truck and got out and while the thought of bacon and eggs did cross his mind he couldn't help but stare at the sign just above the front restaurant door.

"Do you think they serve Blue Pegasus brand dark roast coffee here?" Freed asked as he jumped down from the vehicle. "I could really use some."

"I don't know," Laxus grunted, finally willing himself into moving toward the door, "The place seems remote so I doubt it."

"Ah--" Freed nodded, following close behind. "One could hope--"

Laxus chuckled as the two men climbed up the two-steps and reached the door, Laxus pulling it open, allowing Freed to enter the building first with him following right behind. The building inside was spacious, had a bar that was closed and had large numbers of chairs and tables though there was barely anyone inside, save for the employees. Immediately, both men were greeted by a petite young woman with a slim figure with violet-colored hair and bright green eyes and wore a lime green-colored blouse with a green neckline and trim, which is complimented by a long, white skirt. She smiled brightly to which the two men returned.

"Good morning and welcome to the Fairy Tail Diner." She smiled. "Table for two?"

"Yes please." Freed nodded.

She smiled and gathered two menus before holding an arm out toward one direction. "Right this way please."

They followed the young woman to a table just a little further inside the building and were seated in a booth next to a window. Once the men had settled into the booth, the woman each handed the men a menu and pulled away, while straightening her dress.

"My name is Kinana and I'll be your server today," She pulled out a small notepad and a pen, "Can I get you two something to drink?"

"Ah-- Can you give us a moment?"

"Of course. I'll give you a moment to look over our menu." She smiled. "I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Thank you." Freed smiled, pulling up his menu. "Let's see--"

She turned and left, leaving the two men to their thoughts as she assisted another customer who sat a couple of tables to the left of them. Freed busied himself with the menu, Laxus merely scanned the menu and decided that a large orange juice and a big plate of medium-rare steak with eggs and harsh browns would be fine, he set the menu down and decided to take a proper look of the place only to be distracted by their waitress talking to one of the other customers, a man from the sounds of it.

"Can I get a glass of Pepsi?"

"Your usual then?"

"Yep."

"Sure. Coming right up."

"Thanks Kinana."

When the waitress, Kinana, moved, Laxus felt as though someone had attached jumper cables to his heart and gave it a powerful jolt, his face burning. Sitting at the table, reading a book, just to their left was a boy; a young man really.

He was a lean young man, packing some muscle on his frame, he looked to be shorter then him by maybe a good foot or two and couldn't be any older then his early twenties. His skin looked to have been kissed by the sun itself, his eyes looked to made from liquid gold and his pink-colored hair was messy as if he had just woken up. But what drew his attention was the white scale-pattern scarf he wore around his neck. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the kid not even when Kinana came back, standing in his line of sight and placed his drink before him, Laxus felt his face grow hot as Kinana left revealing the boy once more, this time he was giving off a toothy grin as he thanked her.

"Are two ready to order?"

Laxus jumped when Kinana appeared before their table, pen and pad ready, he fumbled with his menu while Freed, somehow oblivious to his sudden behavior, placed his menu onto the table and gave her his order.

"Yes. I'd like a cup of coffee. Cream and sugar on the side." He stole a quick look at the menu. "And may I have the Grand Slam breakfast? I'd like the bread on the side toasted sourdough and if possible make my eggs scrambled with onions mixed in both the eggs and harsh browns."

"Sure." Kinana beamed. "Did you want butter on both the toast and pancakes, none at all or one just one of them?"

"Both."

"Okay." Kinana said as she wrote down Freed's request before taking the menu from him. She turned to Laxus. "And you sir?"

Laxus jolted, eyes wide and he turned his attention back to the waitress, who in turn with Freed, raised their brows. "Sorry... What?"

"Your order?" Kinana said uncertainly.

"Oh! Right! Order, order," Laxus mumbled, looking at the menu, "Yeah. I think I'll have the steak and eggs platter and orange juice. Just orange juice and make the steak medium-rare please."

"Alright then." Kinana said, writing Laxus' order down and took his menu. "I'll return with your orders momentarily."

Kinana took his menu and once again, she disappeared leaving the two men-- And the cutie-- alone. Laxus groaned and dropped his head onto the table surface, his face a flaming red. It was an action that didn't go unnoticed by the greenette in front of him or the pink-haired boy next to him.

"Laxus!" Freed said, slightly alarmed. "Is everything alright?"

"Mm fine." Laxus mumbled. He didn't need his bodyguard, his best friend, seeing him like this. Blushing like a lovesick schoolgirl. "Just tired."

"I see." Freed let out a sigh of relief before leaning back and fixing the burly blonde with a stern glare. "But of course, this is you're own fault after all."

"What?" Laxus asked, lifting his head up to glare at the greenette.

"You heard me," Freed said, folding his arms across his chest, "You've been driving the entire night and you've been up since 10 in the morning and you thought this was a good idea to drive after no sleep for almost 20 hours?"

"Shut up." Laxus grunted. 

With a heavy sigh he placed his chin back onto the counter top while Freed shook his head. Upon the feeling of someone staring at him, he whipped his head in the direction of where the feeling was coming from and found himself staring at the pink-haired, golden-eyed boy. Both men blushed and turned away but Laxus planted his face deeper into the smooth wooden counter top.

_'Hell.'_

It was going to be a long, long day.


	3. Welcome to Magnolia

Once breakfast had been finished, Laxus could feel the lull of sleep calling out to him and he was ready to find the nearest bed and crash. But first he would pay the bill then he and Freed had to find a nearby gas station, fill up his truck then they would find a nearby hotel to crash and that was when Laxus' sleep deprived brain finally made him realize one little problem.

He knew nothing of the town he brought himself into.

He had no map of the town in his truck as Crocus, he doubted, hardly sold any map outside their city limits anywhere. His phone had died during the trip down and he forgotten to charge his spare battery pack when he returned from his last flight and he was pretty such Freed's was close to death itself. But he did have Freed--

"Hey Freed?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you know about this town?"

"Magnolia?" Freed asked earning him a nod from the burly blonde. "Not much I'm afraid. It's a rather rural place despite it's rather large size-- Perhaps a farming community by trade."

"Shit." Laxus grumbled, running his hand over his tired face. "Then you don't where we could go to find a gas station and hotel in one go, huh?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Damn."

"Uh excuse me?"

Laxus blinked, removing his hand from his face to find himself face to face with the pink haired boy, who regarded him rather curiously. 

"Yes?" Freed smiled. "Can we help you?"

"Sorry." The pinkette grinned sheepishly. "I couldn't help but overhearing that you guys are new around here."

Freed opened his mouth, in an attempt to respond only for Laxus to quickly cut him off. "We are. You know where the nearest gas station is?"

He nodded. "Yep."

"Good my truck's running on fumes at this point." Laxus grunted, grabbing his keys. "There's a hotel in the same area right?"

"It's more of a motel really. Nothing fancy." The pinkette shrugged. "If that's okay?"

"It'll be adequate." Freed said, briefly looking to Laxus. "You look ready to collapse."

"Hell, I'm gonna collapse right now." Laxus groaned, rubbing his face. "I'm fucking tired."

"And whose fault was tha--"

"Don't start."

The pinkette let out a laugh that sounded like a gentle melody to the blonde and he grunted. No-- That can't be it-- It had to be his tired brain over-imagining.

"Let me pay for my meal real quick and I'll help the two of you get settled in." The boy grinned, jabbing his thumb behind him.

"Perfect." Freed beamed. "We'll pay for ours then we'll meet you outside."

* * *

Once the bills had been paid and waitress given her tip, Laxus and Freed stepped outside the diner and were met with the pink haired boy who waved them over to his red jeep Cherokee. Laxus waved back as he and Freed approached him, pleasantly surprised to find that it was thankfully parked next to his F-450 truck.

"Ready for a super short tour?"

"Mm."

"Thank you for your assistance." Freed smiled. "This is really much appreciated. This trip was a bit sudden that we had no time to thoroughly plan this." 

Laxus grunted.

"No problem." He beamed before he stuck a hand out. "My name's Natsu by the way. Natsu Dragneel."

"I'm--" Freed suddenly froze, his hand outstretched as he turned to Laxus wide-eyed. "I'm... I'm uh..."

Natsu tilted his one side, confusion evident on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No!" Freed quickly assured. "It's just-- We-- We uh... Um--"

"I'm-- Uh-- Luxus Dreyfus! And this is Fried Justinian." Laxus said, taking the boy's hand into a firm shake. "Simple travelers."

Freed shot him an incredulous look and Laxus had, at that point, mentally agreed that he maybe he should have put more thought into what he had just said; He agreed there was no way the kid or anyone would believe that. Remote or not, if Laxus really wanted a 'break' from his _'fast-lane'_ life, announcing his presence as the way he did wasn't the smartest move. Laxus closed his eyes and let a heavy sigh. It was inevitable in the end, the damned paparazzi, his insane stalkers, money-hungry agents and his crazed _'1#'_ fans always found him in the end, no matter what he did or where he hid, they always did. Though he never did figure out how they found out about anything and if they truly sat down and thought about it-- The kid and the townspeople would eventually find out that the famous action star, Laxus Dreyar and his equally famous bodyguard were here in their sleepy town. 

Might as well get it done and over with.

But what the pink-haired boy said next floored the two men.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both. Welcome to Magnolia." Natsu grinned, shaking both men's hands. "So-- What brought the two of you here to our quiet town?"

"What--?"

"Brings us--?"

Both men shared a quick glance.

"You know, like, for business or sight-seeing?" Natsu explained. "Most the time, folks come out here for the sight-seeing hot spots or to see and enjoy our world famous festivals, other."

"You... You don't know who we are?" Freed asked, in masked disbelief as he pointed to both himself and Laxus.

"N-No." Natsu looked unsure. "Should I? I mean, I've lived here my whole life and I don't think I've seen either of you before--"

"It's fine." Laxus cut in before Freed could say something. "Sorry. He thought he recognized ya' from somewhere."

Freed shot him a look to which Laxus returned, leaving Freed to roll his eyes with a huff.

"Yeah." Natsu chuckled. "I get that a lot. Dunno who'd anyone confuse me for-- I am just me."

"Y-Yeah." Laxus agreed. "Sorry."

"It's cool." Natsu assured, pulling out his keys. "How about we get you guys settled in and then we can pick up where we left off after a well-earned sleep? You look like you're ready pass out and never wake up again until the next century."

"Perhaps we are over-exaggerating a bit." Freed sighed with a small smile. "A simple 8 hours should suffice."

"I dunno. I think that about sums it up." Laxus grunted. "I feel like it."

Freed sighed.

"Well, I promise ya' the place we're going to is really close by-- A quick 5 minute drive." Natsu grinned. "But do _TRY_ to keep up. I move fast, just a fair warning."

* * *

Natsu wasn't kidding when he said he moved _'fast'_.

Once they had gotten into their vehicles, Natsu tore out of the parking area in the restaurant and Laxus felt a sense of excitement and exileration at the unspoken challenge as he kept up with the pink-haired kid despite Freed's verbal protest. It had been a long time since the action star had actually had fun for himself rather then being paid or being forewarned to enjoy a challenge. In the kid's defense, he seem to know who he was or he plainly didn't recognize him, which Laxus saw as a bonus, but he was challenging type who'd liked competing and having competitions with friends just for the sake of fun.

He was really liking this kid.

They reached the gas station as Natsu had agreed and were pleasantly surprised that there was a rather nice motel just right behind it, barely 10 feet of walking distance away. They disembarked from their cars and met up in the front of the convenience store doors where Natsu greeted them with wide arms and an equally wide smile.

"Welcome to the Fire Dragon's Nest Motel and Gas Station." Natsu beamed. "Fiore's favorite stop and go location anywhere around."

"It's rather nice." Freed nodded. "Quick access to the major interstate, gas station in close proximity, decent convenience store. They must have a lot of customers."

"Eh-- We get so-so," Natsu shrugged, "Sundays are often our dead days. Let's get you guys gassed up then I'll get ya' a room set up."

" _'I'_?" Both men blinked.

"Oh, yeah!" Natsu grinned. "I'm the owner. Come on, I'll show you around."

Natsu made his way toward the front of the store and reached to push it open only to run smack into the closed door, bouncing off of it and landing on his ass with grunt. He blinked and stared at the door in confusion and in annoyance.

"Oh my-- Are you alright?" Freed asked, already at the boy's side. "Anything broken?" 

"No." Natsu grunted, squinting at the door. "The hell--"

"Guess you forgot to open?" Laxus guessed, trying and failing to keep his laughter under wraps.

"La-- Er-- Luxus! It wasn't funny!" Freed growled. "He could've been seriously hurt!"

"I can't help it." Laxus grinned. "It was hilarious."

"Why the hell is it closed?" Natsu growled as picked himself up the floor, glaring hard at the door. "It's after 8! It's supposed to be opened!"

"Kinda hard to open it on time and look after it if you're off having breakfast," Laxus said, folding his arms, "You open it, right?"

"No." Natsu responded, fishing a set of keys from his pocket. "I run the motel and check in the store every now and then. Rogue's the one that opens it. Lyon isn't due to show up till at least 9."

"Does this Rogue usually come in late?" Freed asked as Natsu twisted the key into the lock, unlocking the door. 

"Naw. No way, not Rogue." Natsu shook his head, pushing the door open and allowing the two men inside. "Rogue's the kind of guy that if you have him scheduled to show up and start work at 7, he'd always show up a whole hour early."

"Sounds like a hard-worker." Laxus grunted. "Takes his job seriously."

"Yeah." Natsu smiled. "Rogue's a sweet guy, he just has the misfortune of attracting trouble with weirdos-- I hope everything's okay. Sting, on the other hand--"

"Sting?" Laxus blinked. "You mean the guitarist from the Police?"

"No. I wish. He's my cousin and Rogue's boyfriend." Natsu answered. "He works the morning shift with me at the motel. Him, I know, likes to show up an hour after he's scheduled. Sometimes it's to spite me other times, he actually loses track of time. Only one good guess as to how that happens--"

_"Ahh~"_

All three men froze as a moan entered the still air and Natsu looked toward the back of the store, eyes wide. It sounded like the person was in pain and Natsu then made a dash to the back of the room, dropping his keys to the floor with a loud clatter as Laxus and Freed followed close behind, just as worried.

"Rogue!" Natsu called. "Rogue! Are you okay?!"

Natsu reached the back of the store, where employees often hid away only to stop and his whole face turn red. Laxus blinked in confusion before he looked over the kid's shoulder and even he found his own face turning pink.

"What-- Oh."

"Oh indeed."

"Oooooh-- H-Hey Natsu. What brings you here?"

In the backroom they found two men, both in rather compromising positions. Standing up with his pants and boxers down to his knees was a slim, muscular man with messy blond hair that jutted outwards in every direction with a frontal cowlick partially hanging over his forehead. He had slanted, dark blue eyes; above the right one was a thin, diagonal scar and his left ear was adorned with an earring which, in itself, is attached to by a prominent metal pendant that is crystalline in shape. 

The second man, just as slim with a fraction of the muscles the blonde had was naked from the waist below, his work shirt pulled up to his chest with his arms around the blonde's neck and his legs wrapped around the blonde's waist. He had messy raven hair, reaching down to his shoulders that was brushed to the right side of his face covering up his right eye. Before he buried his redden face into the other man's chest, Laxus had seen he had red eyes and immediately, he had been reminded of Gajeel or what he would imagine Gajeel if he removed all his piercings, his tattoos, was fresh-straight out of high school, smaller and was actually _'cute'_ \-- He paled slightly. 

As far as he knew, Gajeel had never said much about his family other then to say he had been abandoned by his _'cunt'_ of a mother and was adopted by his biological father after the man spent about 7 years fighting the system. He hardly doubted or truly knew if Freed knew if Gajeel had any other blood relatives, current or deceased and Gajeel's said nothing or really shown any motivation about attempting to reconnect with them.

He hoped these two weren't somehow related-- Or had a large mouth.

_'Please don't let them be related.'_

He frowned.

_'Please PLEASE don't be a loud mouth.'_

"I could be asking you that, Sting." Natsu groaned, covering his face with his hands. "What the hell are you doing here and not at the motel?"

"Uhhh--"

"And because _'I was worried that Rogue would be lonely without me'_ doesn't count as an excuse." Natsu growled.

"Then it was because I was lonely without him," the blonde, Sting, said with a rather overdramtic sigh, earning him an eye roll from both the man he held and Natsu. "I missed my wittle Roguie~"

"Don't call me that!" The red faced and dark-haired one, Rogue, seethed. "Put me down, Sting!"

"But Roguie!" Sting cooed, pressing the side of his face against Rogue's own and nuzzling it. "You're so warm... And tight."

"Oh my-- SHUT UP!" He shrieked, smacking the blonde with a resounding smack. "Now put me down, you bastard!"

"Uhhh-- Fiiiiiiiiine."

"You guys live together!" Natsu whined as Sting placed Rogue down. "And you barely work 20 feet from each other!"

"But that's too long~" Sting whined as he pulled his pants up, fixing himself. "And too far away~"

"What are you?" Rogue rolled his eyes as he pulled on his pants and fixed his own clothes. "Four?"

"Probably but you love meeeeeee~"

Rogue blushed and looked away while absent-minded fiddled with his name tag. "Whatever."

"Sting. Get to your post and prepare the guest sign-in log and let Rogue work." Natsu breathed, red face still covered. "We have customers."

It was then the two men realized that Natsu wasn't the only one in the employee break room with them. They blinked before looking over Natsu's shoulder to see an embarrassed and red-faced Freed and a rather stone faced Laxus and when they did both their faces became a burning hot-red and they began to what Laxus could describe as frantic gibberish. 

"I-I-- That--"

"I-- It was--" 

"It's fine." Freed smiled shyly, still trying to look at anything then the pair before them. "It's fine."

"Yeah." Laxus agreed, jabbing a thumb at Freed. "Besides. It wasn't as bad as the when and where I caught this one with his lover."

Freed's horrified face snapped up to the blonde. "Don't you dare--"

Laxus ignored him. "Apparently these two thought that it would be a good idea, since we were all going out to a local bar, a well-known hot spot in the area, he--" He pointed to Freed, "And his boy toy found what they thought was a hidden and secured broom closet. They didn't count on me and his twin brother looking for them so we could go home."

"That makes me feel a little better." Sting grinned. "Hadn't been caught doing that... Yet."

He looked toward Rogue, eyebrows and smile raised suggestively. Rogue growled. "Don't you even think it."

Freed hid his face behind his hands. "I hate you so much."

"Oh no," Laxus remarked sarcastically with a huge grin, "How am I going to live on with my life? Knowing my best friend hates me?"

Everyone laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are much appreciated. :3


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